This invention relates to an air bag door arrangement for an air bag canister that is located behind an automotive trim product, such as an instrument panel. The invention is applicable to separate door arrangements but is particularly well suited for an integral air bag door arrangement in which the covering for the air bag door is an integral part of the covering for the trim product.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,947 granted to Robert Cooper Jan. 25, 1994 discloses an integral air bag door arrangement that includes a sheet metal door assembly. The sheet metal door assembly is attached to a substrate and concealed by an outer uninterrupted cover for the substrate which forms part of an automotive trim product such as an instrument panel, console or steering wheel pad.
In the Cooper arrangement, the sheet metal door assembly has an H-shaped cut that provides two air bag doors that are integrally attached to a rectangular frame at opposite sides of the frame. This rectangular frame and a structural support for an air bag canister are attached to the substrate by fasteners such as rivets, heat stakes, bolts or screws. These fasteners are spaced along the rectangular frame of the sheet metal door assembly as shown in FIG. 1 of the Cooper patent.
In the Cooper arrangement, the reaction force of the air bag canister is applied to the substrate and the integrally attached doors are bent around the substrate when the air bag is deployed as shown in FIG. 3 of the Cooper patent.